Buckeyes Headed to Louisville Regional – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team secured its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2009 as the No. 2 seed in the Louisville Regional Monday afternoon. The Buckeyes are joined by No. 1 seed and host Louisville, No. 3 seed Wright State and No. 4 seed Western Michigan. Ohio State (43-18-1) earned an automatic bid into the tournament after winning the Big Ten Tournament with four straight wins to finish off an impressive month of May with a 16-4 record.
“It’s kind of reality, I know what these guys did on the field yesterday to earn that spot, but to still see it come up on the board is a really good feeling,” head coach Greg Beals said. “This is a true regional at Louisville. We will go to work and collect some information and develop a scouting report. We have a lot of respect for all the teams that have made it this far. There’s no easy regional. Our guys our battled-tested and will be ready to get back on the diamond.”
Ohio State opens regional play against in-state opponent Wright State at 2 p.m. ET Friday at Jim Patterson Stadium. The contest between the Buckeyes and Raiders will be shown on ESPN3. Wright State is making their second straight appearance in the regionals as the No. 3 seed. The team won the Horizon League Tournament Title with a 7-2 win over Valparaiso last weekend. Ohio State leads the all-time series vs. the Raider, 22-17-1, and the contest Friday will be the first meeting between the two programs since the 2004 season. The Buckeyes are 42-39 all-time in the NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes and Raiders are joined by regional No. 1 seed Louisville (47-12) and No. 4 seed Western Michigan (22-32), who meet in the nightcap of the opening day at 6 p.m. ET. The Cardinals lead the all-time series vs. the Buckeyes, 10-4. Ohio State defeated the Cardinals, 2-0, last season in Columbus. The Buckeyes trail in the all-time series with the Broncos, 58-41-1.
The winner of the Louisville regional will move on to a Super Regional next weekend against the winner of the Nashville Regional, which consists of Vanderbilt, Washington, UC Santa Barbara and Xavier. The Super Regional is a best two-of-three format with the winner advancing to the eight-team College World Series, scheduled for June 18-29 in Omaha, Neb.
